Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Overview:

The International Barcode of Life Project (iBOL) has one overarching goal - to assemble the sequence library and the technology necessary to identify organisms rapidly and inexpensively. This goal is underpinned by the observation that sequence diversity in short, standardized gene regions (DNA barcodes) enables both the identification of known species and the discovery of new ones. By building an identification system based on digital DNA strings rather than on analogue traits, DNA barcoding promises a massive improvement in our capacity to monitor and manage biodiversity with profound societal and economic impacts. iBOL will construct the richly parameterized barcode library needed as the foundation for a DNA-based identification system; 5M specimens representing 500K species will be analyzed within 5 years. iBOL will also deliver technologies enabling both massive biodiversity screens and point-of-contact identifications. Its work will be advanced through an international research consortium of biodiversity scientists, genomicists, technologists and ethicists.

Background on Biodiversity:

The scientific registration of species diversity celebrates its quarter millennium in 2008. In the 1758 edition of Systema Naturae, Linnaeus began the effort, providing names for slightly more than 5000 species using a binomial system (e.g. Homo sapiens) that became the standard. Aside from names, he provided brief morphological descriptions to aid others in recognizing these species. This library of life has now been greatly extended; more than 1.6M species have been described over the past 250 years. As might be expected from this dramatic rise in the species count, the task of species recognition has become more complex. This fact has provoked two responses; morphological descriptions of species have become much more detailed and taxonomists have become much more specialized, typically working on groups of 1000 or fewer species. These responses have had unintended secondary consequences. The need for such careful morphological codification has slowed the pace of species description. As well, the identification of organisms has become complicated by the need to access the appropriate specialist. As one looks to the future, it is apparent that these barriers to biodiversity registration and identification will only strengthen because many, if not most, species await description (likely 80% of all eukaryotes).

Yet, it is widely accepted that we urgently need to extend understanding of biodiversity. In part, this reflects growing recognition that human activities threaten a mass extinction event. The call for intensified efforts to document and protect biodiversity was a key policy declaration from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity. At the G8 meeting in 2003, French President Jacques Chirac strengthened the call for action, proposing the establishment of a Forum modelled on the Global Climate Change Panel. The G8 Science Ministers have sustained discussion on this issue and 2008 should see the establishment of this organization. Aside from concern motivated by threats to biodiversity, the complexities in gaining species identifications have immediate serious economic implications, linked to issues such as the failure to curb invasive species and marketplace deception.

Background on Barcoding:

Since its first discussion in 2003, DNA barcoding has drawn attention from the international scientific community, government agencies, and the public. Although it generated early controversy, DNA barcoding has gained increasing scientific momentum as large-scale investigations have demonstrated its effectiveness in a wide variety of taxa. Additional support derives from the fact that standardised DNA barcoding protocols are raising the quality of all genomic data by strengthening recognition of the need for a persistent linkage between gene sequences and their source specimen. The growing interest in DNA barcoding is revealed in varied ways. Scientific bibliometrics (ISI) identify it as a 'fast rising field' and show that DNA barcoding has been used as a keyword in 209 scientific articles since 2004 (194 articles employed the keyword metagenomics over the same interval). This citation activity suggests that DNA barcoding has quickly moved from concept to international movement. This conclusion is reinforced by substantial funding commitments and by rapid growth in the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) which now includes 150 member organizations in 45 countries. Reflecting this deployment of resources and personnel, barcode records have already been gathered for 400,000 specimens representing more than 40,000 species. Appendix 1 provides further details on the scientific impacts of DNA barcoding.

Research Plans:

Over the past five years, barriers to barcode analysis have largely been overcome, costs have been reduced and its effectiveness has been shown in varied geographic settings and taxonomic groups. However, this work has also established that DNA barcoding cannot be properly advanced as an artisanal enterprise. It needs core facilities operating under standardised protocols to execute rapid, cheap sequence analysis and it needs coalitions of researchers to gather, identify and curate specimens. DNA barcoding further requires support from the bioinformatics community to secure and analyze data and from private sector partners to create the devices that will enable both point-of-contact barcode analysis and massive barcode screens. This necessarily international, broadly-based, collaborative initiative represents a paradigm shift for biodiversity science which has, until now, been largely advanced through lone investigators or small collaborations.

iBOL has the primary mission of extending the geographic and taxonomic coverage of the barcode reference library, of protecting and analyzing the resultant barcode records and creating the new devices and protocols to ensure global access to this information. Within 5 years of activation, iBOL participants will have gathered DNA barcode records from 5M specimens, representing at least 500K species. This sequence library will enable a highly effective identification system for those eukaryote species that are regularly encountered by humanity, and will provide the foundation for a complete barcode reference library for eukaryotes. Aside from building the library, iBOL participants will develop the infrastructure needed for its application to real world problems, such as forensics, conservation, and ecosystem monitoring. Appendix 2 provides further details on research plans and organization.

Organization:

iBOL will assemble a formidable array of nations, researchers and private sector partners to gather sequence records and advance barcode technologies. Its founding membership has been structured by the realization that iBOL's research goals can only be achieved through an alliance between nations with high biodiversity and those with the infrastructure for barcode analysis. Consequently, iBOL will involve an initial partnership of 26 nations arrayed in the following collaborative model:

  • Four 'central nodes' (Canada, China, European Union - France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, United States) will have a primary responsibility in funding and coordinating iBOL, and in supporting its core analytical facilities and data archives.

  • Nine 'regional nodes' (Australia, Brazil, India, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa) will fund barcode work within their national boundaries and surrounding areas, except New Zealand and Norway which will lead barcoding programs in the Antarctic and Arctic respectively.

  • Seven 'national nodes' (Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Kenya, Madagascar, Panama, Thailand) will augment their national surveys of biodiversity via barcoding.

Participation within iBOL brings benefits, but it also carries responsibilities. Participating nations must identify funding, focus efforts on priority research themes and follow policies that guide data access and quality. Appendices 3 and 4 provide further details on the rules that will structure participation.

Governance:

iBOL is being developed under the guidelines of Genome Canada's International Consortium Initiative (ICI) and will be established as a not-for-profit corporation, ensuring proper management and financial oversight. Research activities will be overseen by a Scientific Steering Committee that will include a representative from each participating nation. A Board of Directors, including both representatives from funding agencies and independent experts, will monitor compliance with project objectives and ensure good governance.

Linkages with the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL):

With substantial support ($5M) from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, CBOL has played a critical role since 2004 in building a coalition of 150 biodiversity organizations with an expressed interest in DNA barcoding. CBOL is concerned with setting norms, encouraging networking, raising awareness, capacity building, and lowering the barriers to barcode assembly. However, it does not do the actual job of barcoding; iBOL will provide the co-ordinated force of individuals and institutions with funding and tools to gather barcode records. Because iBOL and CBOL have complementary missions, there will be strong opportunities for synergy. These will include the co-organization of conferences and workshops and the establishment of new research collaborations.

Education and Outreach:

iBOL will work closely with the leadership of CBOL to ensure that researchers from all nations, including those that are not formal members of iBOL, have the chance to gain direct experience with analytical protocols. Some of these training opportunities will coincide with conferences or workshops organized by CBOL. Other sessions, especially those offered at its core analytical facilities, will be organized by iBOL participants. iBOL will also develop a comprehensive portfolio of training materials and websites that will both showcase its work and provide resources to the international scientific community.

Activation Plans:

iBOL planning began at a June 2007 workshop in Guelph, Canada, that assembled 75 leaders from 21 nations. Further dialogue occurred at meetings in fall 2007, especially at the Second International Barcode of Life Conference in Taipei and at the European Community Barcode of Life meeting in Leiden. There was a notable consensus at these assemblies; the scientific goals of iBOL were achievable if funding could be raised. Participants also emphasized that iBOL is a science project that cannot wait - biodiversity is under greater threat in varied quarters of the globe than at any other time in human history.

Work is now focused on gaining commitments for $100M of the $155M target by fall 2008, allowing iBOL activation on July 1, 2010 while fund-raising continues. Progress toward this goal is being led by Steering Groups which are working to secure funding in their home nations. Two of 7 National Nodes (Argentina, Costa Rica) have now obtained the $1M required to allow their participation and 5 of 9 Regional Nodes (Australia, India, Korea, New Zealand, Norway) have either achieved or made significant progress towards their $5M target. None of the four Central Nodes has yet achieved their $25M target, but fund-raising efforts are active. This work is furthest advanced in Canada where $7M has been committed and prospects for another $25M are strong (in addition to earlier investments of $30M that built core facilities and a national research team for barcoding).

Impacts:

The development of such a large barcode reference library will create an efficient DNA-based system for the identification of organisms and will lead to the discovery of many new species. The positive impact of broadening from current identification systems based on analogue characters to digital systems based on DNA cannot be overemphasized. This transition will not only lead to new precision in identifications, but to its automation. It is this automation (and its ability to be applied in the field) that will truly revolutionize our understanding of biodiversity.

The iBOL program of research does not simply promise an upgraded understanding of biodiversity; it will also provide important insights into evolution. The barcode region for animals, a segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene, is a sentinel for shifts in nucleotide composition and for rates of evolution across the mitochondrial genome. As a result, the immense horizontal survey of sequence diversity executed by iBOL will deliver new details into the factors modulating rates of molecular evolution. Further, because measures of sequence divergence in the barcode region correlate with those in the nucleus, barcode data provide contextual information that is valuable in selecting species for other genetic investigations. It will also provide the most densely parameterized record of sequence information for any gene, enabling delicate investigations into pathways of COI protein evolution. Finally, by storing all DNA extracts gathered during the course of its work, iBOL will create an invaluable resource for future genomic studies - allowing the rapid mobilisation of investigations which seek to probe issues ranging from single genes to whole genomes.

Aside from these direct scientific benefits, the program of research conducted by iBOL will represent a leading thrust into Environmental Genomics, a field in which new companies will flourish and new academicians will be trained. We are further confident that iBOL's core endeavour - gathering short sequences from standardized gene regions from millions of specimens cheaply and reliably will prove very important in medicine, agriculture, regulation, education and recreation.

Socio-Economic Benefits:

iBOL will develop an accurate, rapid, cost-effective, and universally accessible DNA-based system for species identification. Once implemented, this system will revolutionize access to biological information and affect research, policy, pest and disease control, food safety, resource management, conservation, education, recreation, and many other areas in which society interacts with biodiversity.

This work will have broad socio-economic benefits. For example, the increasing globalization of trade and climate change means that all nations face unprecedented exposure to new species that threaten their agriculture, forestry and fisheries. DNA barcoding will enable the prompt identification of invasive species, allowing quarantine and eradication efforts to begin years earlier than currently possible, with subsequent massive reductions in cost and increased chances of success. It will further aid the selection of optimal control strategies for pest species affecting the varied natural resource sectors. Barcoding can also play a critical role in regulating trade in endangered or protected species and products. It will certainly contribute importantly to implementation of the recognized need for management at an ecosystem-level rather than species-level. Certainly, as massively parallel sequencing technologies are developed, the sequence library assembled by iBOL will enable newly sophisticated environmental monitoring that will exploit living organisms as integrators of environmental change and as early warnings of damage. We can look forward to a time when large-scale, automated monitoring of species presence and abundance in the world's oceans, inland waters, and terrestrial ecosystems is routine. In a very real sense, biotic monitoring will move from the canaries that probed air quality in 19th century mines to barcode surveys that will register planetary health in the 21st.

Aside from societal benefits linked to biodiversity science, iBOL investigations will provide opportunities for discoveries of general application. For example, iBOL researchers will confront (and develop novel solutions) to the problems in recovering DNA sequence information from degraded DNA, from single cells, and from environmental mixtures. There will also be opportunities for commercialization, such as those involving the development of PDA-based technologies for making barcode analyses real-time, from the field. There is additionally the prospect of licensing access to the Barcode of Life Data System, although any such revenues will be directed to the advance of biodiversity research.

Societal Implications:

Because its research programs will have broad social and scientific impacts, the iBOL budget will include funding for a policy group which will provide a proper forum for dialogue on these issues. In this regard, we note that the Economic and Social Research Council in the UK has funded a major research program entitled "Taxonomy at the Crossroads: Science, Publics and Policy in Biodiversity" which examined the societal impacts of DNA barcoding. iBOL will not only extend this work, but will support a number of policy workshops to ensure that DNA barcoding gains rapid practical application